Let’s start with doughnuts. Maple doughnuts. As fried and glazed by the Mill Gap Ruritans. These pastries are a passion among Highland Maple Festival veterans. You’ll see a long line of folks waiting for their chance to purchase a pair, or a dozen, or multiple dozens. If it’s you first time at Virginia’s Highland Maple Festival (this is the 57th annual edition), which is going on this weekend and next weekend, you might want to make those maple doughnuts your first priority, as they stop selling at 1 p.m. Or would you rather begin your day with a stack of plain or buckwheat pancakes topped with local syrup? Choices…
Frying up a batch of pork rinds
This is one great eating festival! In addition to the doughnuts and AYCE pancakes, you’ll find maple cinnamon buns and maple-glazed chicken. There are plenty of great sounding non-maple things to feast on as well. Enjoy fresh-fried pork rinds, trout sandwiches, or country ham. Or go for a full-bore chicken, ham, or fresh trout dinner at the McDowell firehouse.
There’ll be pancakes with Highland maple syrup all over the region this weekend and next.
There’s an arts and crafts show, bluegrass bands, cloggers, fiddlers, and tours of the local maple sugar camps. As you may have gathered by now, this festival takes place in multiple small towns and sugar houses throughout the region. Find details about the where-and-when of all events at the festival website, or the online festival brochure.
When is the Maple Syrup festival for the Year 2016? I would like to make plans to come but I need to have a date to put on my calendar.
March 12 – 13 & 19 – 20, 2016
Hours: Saturdays 8:30 am to 5:00 pm, Sundays 8:30 am to 4:00 pm
Have fun!